Social Responsibility

Our Environmental & Social Responsibility

Manhattan believe in business morals and have a long tradition of doing the right things for the right reasons.
Doing business the right way means much more than just being fair with your customers and employees. It also means; being a good citizen, operating to high ethical standards and addressing the impact our business has on the environment.
These principles form the very fabric of what Manhattan stands for; these make up our Environmental & Social Responsibilities (ESR).
Ethical Business
To do business with integrity and treat people with respect
Right from the early days in Pembrey, Manhattan has built its business on the principle of dealing honestly and fairly with our customers, our suppliers and each other.
Manhattan commitment, as a retailer and as an employer is, first and foremost, to operate with good governance and to treat others with respect.
Human Rights & Supply Chain
Mnahattan uses suppliers from around the world; we look for partners who are able to give us the best combination of quality, price and service that will allow us to deliver honest value to our customers. In this global environment, we take an interest in the standards of all our business partners.
Compliance with Manhattans' Standards of Business Conduct is a condition for becoming and remaining a business partner of Manhattan. We take special care in selecting partners who follow fair, decent and legal labour practices, agree to our Standards of Business Conduct, and are dedicated to producing a quality product.
Our business partners must comply our Standards of Business Conduct, for example:

No use of child or forced labour

Fair wages and benefits

Freedom of association

No discrimination

No unlawful inducements

Healthy and safe working conditions

Meeting legal requirements involved in conducting their business

Environmental Sustainability

To maintain a healthy environment for future generations
As a business, we use a range of raw materials to produce, market & distribute our goods. We understand the importance of using these materials sensitively and Manhattan is committed to playing its part by operating responsibly. We do this through working closely with our employees, suppliers and communities to promote sustainability in ‘how we do business.’
Using recycled materials
Our practise is to support the recycling industry by using recycled content in our paper and plastic.

Plastics

As a material needed to protect our products in transit against dirt, damp and odours, plastic performs this job well. We use a clear plastic cover to protect our clothing from the time it’s despatched from the manufacturer. The product bag is made from a very thin plastic to minimise waste, but as such it will not sustain the rigours of postal delivery. To address this, for small orders we place products into another more sturdy and non-transparent part-recycled plastic bag. For medium to larger orders we use a cardboard box.
All materials have drawbacks. Plastic is not viewed as a ‘sustainable’ product and the type of plastic used for bags – Low Density Polyethylene, is currently only accepted by a small number of UK councils for kerb-side recycling.
Since 1st October 2011 we support and adhere to the Welsh Government: Waste Awareness Wales and Waste & Resources Action Programme, minimising the amount of virgin plastic used in our bags by 5p on all single use carrier bags and encouraging our customers to use a 'bag for life'. Our delivery bags are designed to be stored and reused as a ‘returns’ bag if needed.
The carrier bag charge was introduced to dramatically reduce the number of carrier bags used in Wales.
For more information please see:
http://www.carrierbagchargewales.gov.uk/retailers/?lang=en

Paper & Cardboard

As a direct mail business, we are particularly aware of the importance and impact of paper production. Wood is a versatile raw material and when managed effectively, is a renewable resource that both supports natural habitats and absorbs greenhouse gases.

All the paper we source for our UK catalogues is certified either under the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) international forestry certification scheme. In order to qualify for one of these schemes, the paper mill has to manage its forest to a minimum standard of sustainable forestry.
For more information please see:
http://www.fsc-uk.org/
http://www.pefc.co.uk/
At Manhattan all our paper is derived from recycled or sustainable sources. We use recycled for our headed paper and stationery where the quality of print is less of a concern. We track our office paper consumption and have set a 20% reduction target for 2012/13.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
For more information please see:
http://www.fsc-uk.org/
http://www.pefc.co.uk/
At Manhattan all our paper is derived from recycled or sustainable sources. We use recycled for our headed paper and stationery where the quality of print is less of a concern. We track our office paper consumption and have set a 20% reduction target for 2012/13.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
http://www.fsc-uk.org/
http://www.pefc.co.uk/
At Manhattan all our paper is derived from recycled or sustainable sources. We use recycled for our headed paper and stationery where the quality of print is less of a concern. We track our office paper consumption and have set a 20% reduction target for 2012/13.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
http://www.pefc.co.uk/
At Manhattan all our paper is derived from recycled or sustainable sources. We use recycled for our headed paper and stationery where the quality of print is less of a concern. We track our office paper consumption and have set a 20% reduction target for 2012/13.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
At Manhattan all our paper is derived from recycled or sustainable sources. We use recycled for our headed paper and stationery where the quality of print is less of a concern. We track our office paper consumption and have set a 20% reduction target for 2012/13.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
As for cardboard, where strength permits, we use 100% recycled material.
Sustainable Mail
To demonstrate our commitment to a more environmentally friendly way of sending mail to our customers, we are investigating the Royal Mail ‘Sustainable Mail’ standards.
For more information please see:
www.greendm.co.uk
www.royalmail.com

Transport

We believe home shopping is the most environmentally friendly form of shopping. We are committed to achieving our transport needs as efficiently as possible and reducing our carbon footprint by working with our logistic business partners to maximise loads, sharing trailers/containers and consolidating shipments.

Energy & Water

We use energy efficient lighting and natural light where possible. Drinking water butt is provided for staff and customer use, minimising waste tap water.

Waste & Recycling

We recycle all materials supported by local authority waste management programme, including paper products, aluminium cans, glass and plastic as well as the disposal of non-recyclables.

For more information please see:
http://www.recycleforcarmarthenshire.com/English/Pages/Intro.aspx

Community

To make a positive contribution to society, maintaining good community relationships and helping the communities we operate in to thrive.
The employees and families of Manhattan are core to our success. As an employer, we ask everyone to go that extra mile for our customers, and so in return it is only right we go that extra mile for our employees - this is achieved through our community initiatives and 'Journey to Excellence' staff training plan.

Community Link Programme

We appreciate that our success is dependent upon the loyalty of our customers and as such we have developed our 'Community Link Programme' that donates a percentage of the sales made @Manhattan-online.co.uk back into the organisation, 'giving something back'.